Simson puGaza
1 Esiku limwe Simson okwa yi koshilando shAafilisti edhina lyasho Gaza, nkoka i itsu ohonda e ta lala nayo. 2 Aantu yaGaza oya koneke kutya Simson oku li moshilando. Oya kunduka eha ndyoka noye mu tegelela uusiku auhe posheelo shoshilando. Oya li ya mwena uusiku auhe e taa dhiladhila: “Otatu tegelele sigo opepito lyetango, opo naanaa tu mu dhipage.” 3 Ihe Simson okwa ka lala ashike sigo pokati kuusiku. Nena okwa penduka e ta kwata iikulo yomweelo gwoshilando e te yi nakula mo — omiyelo, iikulo, iipatitho naayihe. Okwe yi itsike komapepe a ta yi nayo ayihe, sigo okondungu yondundu ya talathana naHebron.
Simson naDelila
4 Konima yaambika Simson okwa yaleke omukiintu a kala mesilu lyaSorek, edhina lye Delila. 5 Aakwaniilwa yatano yAafilisti oya yi kuye noya ti: “Enda Simson nawa, opo e ku lombwele kutya oonkondo dhe oonene odha kala peni. Otatu vulu oku mu sinda ngiini, tu mu mange notu mu ninge omukatalume gwowala? Nena shaa gumwe gwetu ote ke ku pa iimaliwa iisiliveli eyovi limwe nethele limwe.”
6 Delila okwa ti kuSimson: “Alikana, lombwela ndje shoka hashi ku nkondopaleke. Ngele ope na omuntu a hala oku ku manga, e ku ninge omukatalume, ote shi ningi ngiini?”
7 Simson okwa yamukula: “Ngele otaa manga ndje noothipa heyali oompe inaadhi kukuta, nena ote fe yakwetu.”
8 Onkee aakwaniilwa oye etele Delila oothipa heyali inaadhi kukuta, oye nokwa manga Simson. 9 Okwa li e na aalumentu yamwe ya langela mela ekwawo. Okwi igidha: “Simson! Aafilisti oyo mbo!” Ihe nguka okwa ndifula oothipa ndhoka dha fa oondali dha pya komulilo. Onkee inaa tseya oshiholekwa shoonkondo dhe.
10 Delila okwa ti kuSimson: “Ndati, ou wete ndje egoya, sho inoo lombwela ndje oshili. Alikana, kwatha ndje, u lombwele ndje kutya oto mangwa ngiini.”
11 Okwa yamukula: “Ngele otaa manga ndje noongodhi oompeempeka, ndhoka inaadhi longithwa nale, nena otandi fe yakwetu.”
12 Delila okwa kutha oongodhi oompe e te mu manga e ti igidha: “Simson! Aafilisti oyo mbo!” Aalumentu oya li ye mu langela mela ekwawo. Ihe okwa ndifula oongodhi komaako ge ngaashi oondali.
13 Delila okwa ti kuSimson: “Ngoye oto ningi ndje oshege, sho itoo lombwele ndje oshili. Lombwela ndje, oto mangwa ano ngiini?”
Okwa yamukula: “Ngele to tatakanithile moongodhi oondhinga heyali dhomafufu gandje e to dhi dhenge nawa kumwe, nena ote fe shaa ngoka.”
14 Delila okwe mu kotheke e ta tatakanithile moongodhi oondhinga heyali dhomafufu ge e te dhi dhenge kumwe e ti igidha: “Simson! Aafilisti oyo mbo!” Oye a papudhuka e ta nakula omafufu ge moongodhi.
15 Delila okwa ti kuye: “Oto vulu ngiini okutya, ou hole ndje, nando ino inekela ndje? Owa kotokele ndje lutatu, nonatango ino lombwela ndje shoka hashi ku nkondopaleke.” 16 Okwa dhiginine oku mu pula esiku nesiku. Simson okwa vulwa okutsitsimikwa 17 nohugunina okwe mu lombwele oshili: “Omafufu gandje ihaga tetwa. Ngame omunasiri, omuyoololelwa Omuwa okuza kevalo lyandje. Ngele onda kululwa, nena ote fe yakwetu.”
18 Delila sho a dhimbulula kutya e mu lombwela nduno dholela, okwa tumu etumwalaka kaakwaniilwa yAafilisti tali ti: “Endeleleni, mu ye huka. Okwa lombwele ndje oshili.” Oye ya noye etelele iimaliwa. 19 Delila okwa kothekele Simson mekolo lye. Sho a kumuka, okwi ithana omulumentu okukulula oondhinga dhomafufu ge. Nena okwa tameke oku mu ehameka, oshoka a kanitha oonkondo dhe. 20 Okwi igidha: “Simson! Aafilisti oyo mbo!” Simson okwa penduka nokwa dhiladhila: “Otandi tokoka mo e te manguluka ngoshito.” Ina tseya kutya Omuwa okwe mu thigi po. 21 Aafilisti oye mu kwata e taye mu tsiya omeho. Oye mu fala kuGaza e taye mu tula momalyenge e taye mu kweyitha emanya lyoshini, a tse iilya mondholongo. 22 Ihe omafufu ge oga koko ishewe.
Eso lyaSimson
23 Aakwaniilwa yAafilisti oya gongala, ya dhane oshituthi shokuhambelela kalunga kawo Dagon, ye mu yambele omayambo. Oyi imbi taa ti: “Kalunga ketu okwe tu sinditha omutondi gwetu Simson.” 24-25 Oya li ya shambukwa noya ti: “Ithaneni Simson, e tu shambudhe.” Sho ya ka tala Simson mondholongo, opo e ya shambudhe, oye mu thikameke pokati koongudhi. Aantu sho ye mu mono, oyi imbi omahambelelo taa tanga kalunga kawo taa ti: “Kalunga ketu okwe tu sinditha omutondi gwetu, ngoka a vunyagula po evi lyetu nokudhipaga oyendji.”
26 Simson okwa lombwele omumati ngoka a li e mu kwata keti a ti: “Kwatha ndje, ndi pampadhale oongundhi ndhoka dha humbata etungo. Onda hala okweegamena kudho.” 27 Etungo olya li lyu udhilila aalumentu naakiintu ndo. Aakwaniilwa yatano yAafilisti ayehe omo ya li, nokontala okwa li aalumentu naakiintu omayuvi gatatu taa tala Simson notaye mu nyana noku mu nyankela.
28 Nena Simson okwa galikana a ti: “Omuwa Omupangeliawike, dhimbulukwa ndje. Kalunga, pe ndje oonkondo dhandje polumwe, opo moshikando shika ndi geele Aafilisti omolwomeho gandje.” 29 Simson okwa kwata oongundhi ndhoka mbali dhopokati dha humbata etungo. Okwa kwata oshikaha shimwe kongundhi yimwe noshikwawo konkwawo, okwe dhi undula 30 e ti igidha: “Nandi sile pamwe nAafilisti.” Okwe dhi undula nomatha ge agehe, netungo olyo ongotele mumwe e tali fumvike aakwaniilwa yatano naayehe yalwe. Simson okwa dhipaga aantu oyendji peso lye shi vulithe pumboka a dhipagele, manga a li e na omwenyo. 31 Aamwayina naakwawo oye ya noya kutha po omudhimba gwe. Oye gu fala noye gu fumvike pokati kaSoar naEshtaol mombila yahe Manoak. Okwa li a wilike Israel omimvo omilongo mbali.
Samson at Gaza
1 One day Samson went to the Philistine city of Gaza, where he met a prostitute and went to bed with her. 2 The people of Gaza found out that Samson was there, so they surrounded the place and waited for him all night long at the city gate. They were quiet all night, thinking to themselves, “We'll wait until daybreak, and then we'll kill him.” 3 But Samson stayed in bed only until midnight. Then he got up and took hold of the city gate and pulled it up—doors, posts, lock, and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them far off to the top of the hill overlooking Hebron.
Samson and Delilah
4 After this, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in Sorek Valley. 5 The five Philistine kings went to her and said, “Trick Samson into telling you why he is so strong and how we can overpower him, tie him up, and make him helpless. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes you so strong. If someone wanted to tie you up and make you helpless, how could he do it?”
7 Samson answered, “If they tie me up with seven new bowstrings that are not dried out, I'll be as weak as anybody else.”
8 So the Philistine kings brought Delilah seven new bowstrings that were not dried out, and she tied Samson up. 9 She had some men waiting in another room, so she shouted, “Samson! The Philistines are coming!” But he snapped the bowstrings just as thread breaks when fire touches it. So they still did not know the secret of his strength.
10 Delilah told Samson, “Look, you've been making a fool of me and not telling me the truth. Please tell me how someone could tie you up.”
11 He told her, “If they tie me with new ropes that have never been used, I'll be as weak as anybody else.”
12 So Delilah got some new ropes and tied him up. Then she shouted, “Samson! The Philistines are coming!” The men were waiting in another room. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like thread.
13 Delilah said to Samson, “You're still making a fool of me and not telling me the truth. Tell me how someone could tie you up.”
He told her, “If you weave my seven locks of hair into a loom, and make it tight with a peg, I'll be as weak as anybody else.”
14 Delilah then lulled him to sleep, took his seven locks of hair, and wove them into the loom. She made it tight with a peg and shouted, “Samson! The Philistines are coming!” But he woke up and pulled his hair loose from the loom.
15 So she said to him, “How can you say you love me, when you don't mean it? You've made a fool of me three times, and you still haven't told me what makes you so strong.” 16 She kept on asking him, day after day. He got so sick and tired of her bothering him about it 17 that he finally told her the truth. “My hair has never been cut,” he said. “I have been dedicated to God as a nazirite from the time I was born. If my hair were cut, I would lose my strength and be as weak as anybody else.”
18 When Delilah realized that he had told her the truth, she sent a message to the Philistine kings and said, “Come back one more time. He has told me the truth.” Then they came and brought the money with them. 19 Delilah lulled Samson to sleep in her lap and then called a man, who cut off Samson's seven locks of hair. Then she began to torment him, for he had lost his strength. 20 Then she shouted, “Samson! The Philistines are coming!” He woke up and thought, “I'll get loose and go free, as always.” He did not know that the Lord had left him. 21 The Philistines captured him and put his eyes out. They took him to Gaza, chained him with bronze chains, and put him to work grinding at the mill in the prison. 22 But his hair started growing back.
The Death of Samson
23 The Philistine kings met together to celebrate and offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They sang, “Our god has given us victory over our enemy Samson!” 24-25 They were enjoying themselves, and so they said, “Call Samson, and let's make him entertain us!” When they brought Samson out of the prison, they made him entertain them and made him stand between the columns. When the people saw him, they sang praise to their god: “Our god has given us victory over our enemy, who devastated our land and killed so many of us!” 26 Samson said to the boy who was leading him by the hand, “Let me touch the columns that hold up the building. I want to lean on them.” 27 The building was crowded with men and women. All five Philistine kings were there, and there were about three thousand men and women on the roof, watching Samson entertain them.
28 Then Samson prayed, “Sovereign Lord, please remember me; please, God, give me my strength just this one time more, so that with this one blow I can get even with the Philistines for putting out my two eyes.” 29 So Samson took hold of the two middle columns holding up the building. Putting one hand on each column, he pushed against them 30 and shouted, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed with all his might, and the building fell down on the five kings and everyone else. Samson killed more people at his death than he had killed during his life.
31 His brothers and the rest of his family came down to get his body. They took him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had been Israel's leader for twenty years.
